National Specialist on Digital Villages

Organizational Setting

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative, is to assist governments to develop projects and policies and contribute to the technical assistance in many areas including agriculture, livestock, fishery and forestry to achieve food security and to reduce hunger and malnutrition, to help develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors, and to use their environmental and natural resources in a sustainable manner. The position is located in the FAO Representation in Tirana, Albania.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Albania, with supporting guidance provided by the Project Manager, FAO Lead Technical Officers (LTO) and in consultation with representatives of the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture.

Technical Focus

Recognizing the opportunities, but also the potential risks, offered by ICT for accelerating agricultural and rural development, in January 2021 FAO launched the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) with the ambitious goal to convert at least 1000 villages around the world into Digital Villages. With DVI, FAO is supporting a digital rural transformation process to address agrifood systems’ challenges and improve the livelihoods and resilience of rural communities.

ICT is seen as an accelerator that can contribute to the realization of the enormous value of rural areas in many ways – from increasing agricultural productivity to enabling a more holistic digital rural transformation that allows better access to services, markets, networks, critical knowledge, information, and financial opportunities for rural communities.

Within the project TCP/RER/3905 “Digital Villages in Action”, FAO will pilot Digital Villages in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Turkiye. In Albania, the selected pilot village is Tropoja, and FAO is seeking a national digital agriculture specialist to identify the community challenges and opportunities, provide advice on digital agriculture interventions, and engage the rural community in the DVI transformation process.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Familiarize with DVI methodologies, scope, rationale and tools; • Participate in a scoping mission to villages in Tropoja, meet with local community leaders and administrative leaders of the municipality to introduce the project, and build consensus; • During the mission, hold a series of interviews/focus groups with community leaders, youth, women, farmers and any relevant stakeholder to (DVI Readiness Assessment): - Assess the social structure of selected village(s), identify vulnerable groups, active members and opinion leaders of the community; - Assess in details the digital ecosystem, leadership and governance structure and strategic context of Tropoja and surrounding villages; - Identify agricultural and rural development challenges that are affecting the communities; - Identify potential stakeholders at local, regional or national level that could support Tropoja’s digital village transformation; • Following the mission, prepare a report of findings, including a summary of key information regarding Tropoja, a descriptive summary of its digital ecosystem, leadership and governance structures and strategic context, a SWOT analysis, and some recommendations for possible DVI interventions and next steps. • Facilitate a series of workshops with community leaders and community members aimed at the development of a DVI Roadmap (a simple strategy) for digital rural transformation of the selected village; • Draft the DVI Roadmap for digital rural transformation of the selected village and keep refining it throughout the project;

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree/ University degree/technical diploma/high school diploma, degree in agriculture, rural development, IT/computer science, economics, sociology and/or related fields • 5 years of relevant experience • Excellent working knowledge of English, including excellent reporting skills • National of Albania or a legal resident in the country

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus • Teamwork • Communication • Building Effective Relationships • Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Experience in providing technical advice and support on strategy monitoring; • Experience in working with international partners/organizations and government agencies; • Demonstrated ability to work as an effective team member; • Demonstrated initiative and ability to deliver results within deadlines; • Good writing, presentation and communication skills; • Ability to build and maintain effective relationships; • Self-motivated and able to work with minimal supervision; • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.